Curry Powder Could Help TB Patients

The chemical in turmeric that gives the root its distinctive yellow color and spicy, bitter flavor may also help treat drug-resistant tuberculosis, according to a new study published in Respirology.

Tuberculosis (TB) that’s resistant to most antibiotics can be dangerous and difficult to treat. The disease is caused by an airborne bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), that typically attacks the lungs, but can also harm the brain, kidneys, and spine.

You probably thought that TB was a thing of the past, and in most of recent history, TB was successfully treated with antibiotics; but as antibiotic resistance spreads, some strains of TB bacteria may also develop resistance to drugs.

Curcumin is a substance found in turmeric, a root that’s in the ginger family and originally found in India. Curcumin is turmeric’s most active ingredient and offers anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. For centuries, turmeric has been used in both food and traditional medicine; it’s typically boiled down, baked, and ground into a yellow powder.

In the study, the researchers used an outside the body model for cells infected with TB. They focused on curcumin’s effect on human macrophages, which are a type of white blood cell that clears out any foreign substances, microbes, cancer cells, or cellular waste from the body as part of the immune system. The use of curcumin in the model boosted the macrophages’ ability to clear out and kill the tuberculosis bacteria.

The role of curcumin to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis still needs confirmation, but if validated, curcumin may become a novel treatment to modulate the host immune response to overcome drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Spicing up Breastfeeding Mom’s Diet

Moms who want to avoid PES (Picky Eater Syndrome) – not actually an official condition – are encouraged to spice up their menus.

Standard advice for years, decades, maybe even millennia, has seen breastfeeding “advisors” advise that mom should avoid all spicy foods, because they would upset the baby’s tender digestion. But some researchers have said “poppycock” to that notion (or words to that effect).

As long as 25 years ago, researchers asked a group of nursing mothers to load up on garlic. In the study, which ran in 1991 in the journal Pediatrics, nursing mothers who ate garlic produced breast milk with (not too surprisingly) a stronger smell.

But the most interesting part was how the milk tasted to the babies. Though unavailable for verbal confirmation, when the garlic effect was there, the babies stayed longer on the breast, and nursed more vigorously.

The variety of flavors that mom eats during pregnancy go into her blood and then into the amniotic fluid, which the baby is constantly drinking, in utero. And the flavors that she eats while nursing cross from the blood vessels that supply the mammary glands into the breast milk. Exposure to different tastes early may broaden an infant’s palate.

So instead of restricting the maternal diet, there’s now good evidence that by eating a wide variety of healthy and tasty foods during these periods, mothers are actually doing their babies (and themselves) a big favor.

Pot vs. Booze: The Social Implications

As society’s attitude toward marijuana seems to be shifting, so are forecasts of what the increased use of cannabis (the more formal name for the plant) will mean for society.

The trend is unmistakable.

In Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, the possession and sale of cannabis for medicinal and non-medicinal purposes is legal, and another 15 states are considering legalizing recreational cannabis use. Washington, DC has legalized the personal use of cannabis. Finally, a national survey conducted in 2013 found that 52% of Americans thought marijuana should be made legal.

A study team at the University of California recently conducted a thorough investigation into the social and economic aspects of heavy cannabis use. They found that alcohol abuse is more likely than cannabis to play a role in events such as traffic accidents and violence – but when cannabis and alcohol’s effects on relationships, delinquency and education are measured, results are less clear.

Researchers used data of 947 New Zealanders from birth through age 38. Between 15% and 18% were classified as cannabis-dependent or regular users. Those people were seen to have downward social mobility and more financial problems, such as troubles with debt and cash flow than those with no persistent use.

Both alcohol and cannabis abusers showed similar declines in social class; both were more likely to carry out antisocial behaviors in the workplace and to have relationship problems. However, the heavy cannabis users were more likely than the alcohol abusers to have the most severe financial difficulties – like difficulty finding enough money to eat.

The team stressed that their results do not relate to legalization issues, but offer a fuller picture of long-term marijuana use.